While a very young boy in the ‘80s when the original tv series of “V” aired, all this reviewer can recall were the beautiful(at least then)girls(Sybil Danning, Jane Badler(?)) appearing on the show, and of course, a scene in which the leader of the visitors digests a whole, “live” rat!

While not expecting much of the updated “V,” this reviewer was caught completely off-guard. It’s definitely one of the best series to debut in the past two years and benefits, not only from great casting and direction, but also the writing. It’s one of those rare series, wherein episodes that follow actually get better than then previous ones!

The pilot begins with numerous alien ships showing up all over the world. However, unlike the visitors in “INDEPENDENCE DAYS,” these ones appear human, and some(Lauren Vandervoort, eg)are downright beautiful! 

While the population is understandably scared, the leader of these visitors, a pretty woman, named “Anna,” disarms the concerns of most very quickly. Anna not only states the alien visit as purely benevolent, but goes far to prove it, offering health centers all over the world, wherein their advanced technology begins curing cancer and other diseases. Too good to be true? Well, part of the show’s power lies in its willingness to turn various current political topics upside down, all for the sake of being provocative, rather than taking a right/left point-of-view, and believe it or not, it works!

There are only a few skeptical of the visitor’s real motives, and these are the heroes of the series.  As the first season develops, one of these heroes, an FBI agent, Erica, has to contend with the fact that her own son is now smitten with the drop-dead gorgeous daughter of Anna, a blonde named “Lisa,” who steals every scene, purely on her looks, that she’s in!

Adding to the series’ entertainment factor, writers don’t flinch at killing off characters that have begun to become important to viewers. Not gonna give away anything, but it’s actually surprising and maybe even cruel, as to how ready this device is employed before the first season has ended.   

WARNER BROS has provided the correct 1.78:1 aspect ratio for this VC-1 encoded 1080p blu-ray.  While some have criticized the series for having gimmicky effects, it’s purely a subjective point-of-view. For the most part, the various settings, even those with “obvious” green screen effects(You mean we’re not really watching actual “miles” of interior infrastructure within the mothership?) tend to work without a glitch.  Colors are rich throughout. Fleshtones appear natural, and detail, even though occasionally going soft, is more typically impressive.  For every occasional artifact, there are far more scenes wherein the image looks flawless.  It’s a fine transfer, just imperfect. But, it still outdoes a large number of tv shows on blu-ray, currently available, for quality.  

WARNER BROS has provided a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. While it’s frustrating, yet again, to find WB refuses to employ DTS-HD, so often found on other tv to blu-ray releases from HBO, UNIVERSAL and other studios, at least it’s not awful.  That said, it is disappointing, largely due to inconsistent quality. At times, the dynamic range is fine and an instant later, it’s distorted. When it’s good, it’s pretty good(never great)but when it falters, wow, what a disappointment!  

This is one instance wherein the original network Dolby Digital presentation is notably better than the mix offered for blu-ray.  

WARNER BROS has provided some extras for this blu-ray release, including audio commentary with two producers for an episode called, “FRUITION.” While the duo keep it pretty interesting, there are other episodes that could likely have benefitted much more from their insight.  

The other featurettes(all in HD) look at various aspects of the production, including writing, overall concept, effects and more. Some of it is interesting, some dull.  

Our personal favorite, “UNAIRED SCENES” offers nearly 20 minutes of scenes cut from various episodes, in HD.